Small Clusters of Sex Offenders Somewhat Common

Residents of Las Vegas and much of Southern Nevada can readily view on a digital map whether registered sex offenders live near their homes or even places of work. It’s a public awareness effort that anyone with a computer and Internet service can easily access as per NRS 179B.250. Furthermore, any citizen can sign up for updates via e-mail alerting you that a known sexual offender has moved into your self-designated neighborhood. It can be accessed at www.LVMPD.com, clicking on ‘Sex Offenders’ and following the directions. The program itself is called ‘OffenderWatch.’ For a few years now, I have subscribed to this free public service.

What surprised me is when I recently received several e-mail alerts. Concerned about several notifications of sexual offenders moving to the Sunrise Manor – Stewart Place area, I went online and conducted a search of known, convicted and registered sex offenders in the surrounding area. What I found, surprised me even more.

While there was a smattering of offenders strewn throughout various neighborhood streets, there were two clusters nearby that concerned me. The larger of the two clusters with six registered offenders was at 5250 Stewart Avenue, an apartment complex about 500 yards away, next to the Chuck E. Cheese family pizza parlor, and surprisingly close to the nearby elementary school Richard Rundle. Of the six, one was listed as sexually abusing a child and three are convicted of lewdness with a minor under 14.

Under the impression the registered sex offenders were not allowed to live so close by, I inquired with a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department representative from Crimes Against Youth & Family about how it works – and how it doesn’t work. Unfortunately, there is nothing preventing the nearby cluster of sex offenders – not the cluster, not the proximity to the elementary school, or family restaurant. As for the clustering, the representative said it was simply a natural byproduct of a higher-density of housing, or more people live in closer proximity in apartment complexes.

This information is also available through the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at http://www.nvsexoffenders.gov/. It provides broader information and for those outside of Clark County. Searching their mapping database called ‘Family Watchdog’, there are clusters that are clearly visible including downtown Las Vegas, parts of Boulder Highway, in particularly near several daily-weekly motels, part of MLK Boulevard, part of Nellis Boulevard and Twain Avenue.

The key is the level of the sexual offender, whether Tier 0, Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III. Tier III is the worst. Information on Tier 0 and Tier I offenders is not allowed by NRS to be shared with the public. And of course there are those that do not register as required by law and are unaccounted for. According to the DPS statistics page, nearly 3,000 in Nevada do not follow parts of the registration tracking program. In total, the state lists some 16,000 plus sexual offender cases.

From the State of Nevada Department of Public Safety –

Tier 0 (No assessment required)

Convicted sex offenders who are required to register; however, they are convicted of a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or crime against a child, and are not subject to community notification. These offenders are not subject to a risk assessment and therefore the identities of these offenders will not be posted to this Website because their offense is not listed under NRS 179D.620.

Tier 1 (Low risk)

A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a possible risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Notification shall be provided only to persons authorized to receive criminal history record information. Typically, this includes law enforcement, prosecutors and courts. Assessment information is not intended for the general public therefore the identities of these offenders will not be posted to this Website.

Tier 2 (Moderate risk)

A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a probable risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Requires notification to law enforcement and organizations in the community, including schools, religious and youth organizations, as well as prosecutors and courts. Nevada state law (NRS 179B.250) permits the Nevada Sex Offender Registry to release certain information about all Tier 2 Level offenders. The information shared with the general public, if available, is on this Website and includes the following:

· The offender’s name, including any aliases

· Tier Level

· Year(s) of birth used by the offender

· Physical description

· Residential address, block number of the address of the employer, and block number of the address of
the school of the offender

· Name offender convicted under

· City / County / Township of conviction

· Description of conviction

· Statute

· Penal Institution / hospital committed for sexual offense

· The offense for which the offender was convicted

· The date and location of each conviction

· A photographic image of the offender, if available

All Tier 2 offenders are listed on this Website.

Tier 3 (High risk)

A convicted sex offender who is assessed as posing a substantial risk of recidivism and threat to public safety. Requires notification to law enforcement, organizations in the community, including schools, religious and youth organizations, prosecutors and courts and general community notification. The same information listed under Tier 2 is also available to the public on Tier 3 offenders. All Tier 3 offenders are listed on this Website.

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About Speaking of Dupalo

Martin Dean Dupalo is political scientist, community volunteer, and citizen of East Las Vegas since 1980. As a political scientist, he joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) November 2003 as an instructor for the Department of Political Science, and taught until 2010.
He had attended UNLV as an undergraduate earning two bachelor's degrees in Communications and Political Science. In his sophomore year, Dupalo earned the prestigious Harry S Truman Congressional Scholarship for academics and commitment to public service. He attended Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School of Public Policy, earning his Masters in Public Management.
Before teaching, Dupalo continued a family tradition of military service. He proudly served as an Emergency Actions Officer and later trained as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force. After serving four years and receiving an honorable discharge, he began teaching, first at the local community college, Clark County Community College, and then at four year state college, Nevada State College, until pursuing teaching at UNLV. While waiting for a date to enter Officer Training School, Dupalo earned two associates degrees in fire fighting and served as a wildland firefighter/EMT.
His affiliation with UNLV has spanned some 34 plus years since 1975, when Dupalo was 8 years old and attended a summer program while his father attended classes.
Dupalo has served the community in several capacities, one earning him a National Point of Light, and another, a Jefferson Award. He founded and managed two simple programs to recover and provide food to shelters over the course of four years, and continues to do so. He was also recognized as Citizen of the Month by the City of Las Vegas for several of his continuing volunteer efforts. One of those community volunteer efforts was as a member of the Community Development Review Board for the City of Las Vegas since 2002 through 2008 where he and other community leaders evaluated and recommended funding for approximately 80 community non-profits annually for approximately five million plus annually. A former Boy Scout Explorer, Dupalo has volunteered over the years in several capacities including a hospice with a K-9 therapy dog, serving as a CASA volunteer and as a nonprofit executive board member for a domestic violence shelter since 2005.
Both inspired and saddened by a story of strife and tragedy in a national publication, in 2008, Dupalo led a small team in an effort to send medical supplies to US soldiers to be distributed to civilians in war torn areas. For this initiative and effort, he was recognized with an Angel Award as Humanitarian of the Year.
His family history shaped many of his actions towards public service. A military brat, Dupalo was born at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana and grew up in West Germany. He was one of two sons born to an American career-military father and a German mother. While his father had endured many hardships growing up in Buffalo, New York, his mother had also survived hardship in war ravaged Germany and subsequently the communist blockade of Berlin and ensuing Iron Curtain. At age seven, she was one of the grateful children who survived because of the American Berlin Airlift effort of 1948.
In 2007, Dupalo was nominated for the Jean Ford Democracy Award for his efforts over 20 years, since 1986, of serving directly in the election process including as a volunteer site coordinator, precinct chairperson, clerk positions and several two-year deputy field registrar appointments, utilizing his Spanish speaking ability to assist in registration efforts, as well as his focus in the classroom on the democratic process.
Dupalo has served as both a public and community affairs officer including as an associate news producer and writer. He was available as a speaker for the community through the UNLV Speakers Bureau program.
In 2006, at age 39, he ran unsuccessfully for public office for the nations 5th largest school district for trustee, earning 42% of the vote in the general election. In 2010, his second attempt for public office was quickly dashed after being struck by a vehicle illegally running a red light and successfully undergoing spinal surgery.
Dupalo is proficient in Spanish and introductory German.
In 2006, he earned Honorable Mention in the first annual Robert Warren Carmer Memorial Prize for Creative Writing. Originally entitled "A Replacement History of Las Vegas."